Friday, September 26, 2008

Toshiba Launches 256GB Solid State Drives with MLC


Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)*, its subsidiary in the Americas, today announced enhancements to their line up of NAND-flash-based solid state drives (SSD) with the addition of an industry-leading 256-gigabyte (GB)(1) SSD and the launch of small-sized Flash Modules for netbook computers, ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) and other mobile and peripheral applications. The new drives will be showcased at CEATEC in Makuhari, Japan, from September 30 to October 4.
Samples of both the 256GB SSD and the Flash Modules are available now, with mass production following in the fourth quarter (October to December) of the year.

Toshiba's new high density SSD brings 256GB of capacity to a 2.5-inch drive form factor with an advanced Multi-level Cell (MLC) controller that achieves higher read-write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear leveling to optimize performance, reliability and endurance. Alongside this, Toshiba provides support for the growing market for small, netbook computers, UMPCs and other personal equipment with the launch of small SSD Flash Modules supporting 8GB, 16GB and 32GB densities.

The new 256GB SSD mounts NAND flash memory on a 70.6mm (L) x 53.6mm (W) x 3.0mm (H) platform. The drive offers performance characteristics essential for today's mainstream notebook PCs: highly reliable, high density data storage and support for fast data transfer rates, with a maximum read speed of 120MB per second (MBps)(2) and maximum write speed of 70MBps, via a SATA 3.0Gb per second (Gbps)(3) interface.

Flash Modules are fabricated on a 50mm x 30mm platform, and offer maximum read and write speeds of 80MB and 50MB per second(2), respectively. Flash Modules are also compatible with the SATA interface and will support continued development of the fast growing market for netbook PCs, UMPCs and mobile and peripheral applications by offering developers a wider range of SSD for integration in differentiated products.

Toshiba will continue to promote innovations that widen the horizons of the NAND Flash market and support its continued leadership in that market. The company will spur demand for SSD in notebook PCs, laptops and digital consumer products by enhancing its lineup, offering products with different densities and interfaces in a range of packages, while advancing device performance.